Since the last blog on Perth Metropolitan Reform, there have been substantial changes.
Three councils which had been proposed to amalgamate (rather than undergo a boundary adjustment) had a majority of voters turnout, of whom a majority voted against the proposals. For the amalgamations not to proceed, these polls required at least 50% of eligible voters to actually vote, and more than 50% of those to vote “No” to the amalgamations. Three of the 5 polls achieved this result, and those 3 were one in each of the proposed amalgamated councils – East Fremantle, Kwinana and South Perth all voted against amalgamation. This meant that the amalgamations could not proceed.
With these three amalgamations not going ahead, this left the remaining boundary adjustments in a difficult position, with lots of “orphan” areas, and so the WA state government has now decided to cease the entire reform process. In a statement on February 17th, it was announced that reforms would only proceed if both affected councils signed a resolution in favour of it. At this point in time, no councils have agreed to this.
So for now, it is “business as usual” for Perth metropolitan councils, with no amalgamations or boundary changes set to proceed. The only exception is that the government has expressed its intention to press ahead with changing the City of Perth boundary to incorporate major employment destinations currently in the Subiaco and Nedlands areas. This would require an act of parliament, however.
So at the moment it remains a mystery if Perth metropolitan area would ever undergo boundary changes..id will continue to support local governments through providing up-to-date demographic information to suit their needs, and if changes occur we will endeavour to match them with the best data possible.
